Virendra Singh Rawat / Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has stressed the speedy Covid-19 vaccination of children, especially in the 12-14 year age group.
Presiding over a high level meeting here yesterday, Adityanath has also ordered officials to ensure adequate availability of vaccines in the state.
So far, nearly 23.6 million children in the age group of 15-17 years, and 7.77 million in the age group of 12-14 years have been administered the jab in UP.
“Many children in the 12-14 year age group are yet to take the vaccine. There is a need to ramp up the vaccination drive for them. While there is an abundant stock of vaccines, it should be ensured for future requirements as well,” he noted.
The CM underlined that vaccinating all eligible children was a priority of his government. In the 15-17 year age group, over 96 percent have received at least one dose, while 70 percent in this category are fully vaccinated.
He asked the concerned authorities to launch awareness campaigns regarding the importance of booster doses, and to encourage every individual above 18 years of age to take the booster shots.
UP tops the India vax tally with almost 320 million doses administered so far, of which more than 173 million are first doses, while 145 million individuals are fully vaccinated.
In terms of percentage, 91 percent of the state’s adult population is fully vaccinated, while 100 percent of the population has received at least one dose.
To provide additional protection to the priority group, the UP government had started the process of administering booster (precaution) doses to the frontline and healthcare workers as well as senior citizens from January 10. Nearly 3 million ‘precaution doses’ have been administered in UP.
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At present, the total number of active Covid-19 cases in the state is 1,024 with a declining trend. Yogi underlined the usage of facemask in public places, especially in districts with higher positivity rates.